The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-05
FACTS ABOUT MELONS.
How Missouri Crank Made a Fortune
at Lodi.
From, the San Francisco Chronicle.

From the San Francisco Chronicle
Up TO few years ago waternelons were
not grown TO any great extent in Calitor-
MIA. A peculiar soil and climate is necesSa-
ry, which was thought to be lacking, except
along the Sacramento river. Like many
other discoveries, that of the Lodi melon
district was due to the superior wisdom OF
crank
mold Missourian named Mcintosh owned
forty acres of land on the outskirts OF the
town. He had had considerable experience
in the raising of melons, and the idea oc-
CURED to him that his land contained good
melon soil He mentioned this fact to his
neighbors, but the idea that melons would
grow without rain was laughed at he
plowed his land, however, and planted the
forty acres to melon seed. For several
months he was the laughing stock OF the
community, until his name became the
synonym for crank But, to the surprise OF
his slieptical neighbors, his melon patch
thrived, and by August he had 10000
melons ready for shipment, and cleared
$40 600 from his forty acres.
From that time this district has supplied
four fifths of the melons for this market
and hundreds of cars are loaded during the
season at the little town of Lodi.
There are four melon districts in Califor-
MA. L ne earliest I1elOIlS COlut lIOill Ollt
Sacramento River district, and are shipped
in large crates. The Lodi melons begin to
come in during July and last until Septem-
Der. The late melons dome from the San
Jose district, and are next in quality 10 the
Lodi melons. The fourth is the Fresno dis
trict, but the freights are SO high that but
few are shipped to San Francisco.
The melons at Lodi have no rain, yet re-
quire no irrigation, which, when they are 80
per cent. water, seems marvellous. They
are planted in hills 10 ten feet apart, the
seed being planted by hand. The vines are
thinned down to one, which is sufficient to
cover the ground, the runners extending
from 10 to Is feet. The smaller melons are
picked off, leaving the larger ones to ma
ture This they do very quickly in warm
weather, attaining their size in few days.
As fast as they riEen they are picked and
sent to market.
Picking melons is quite an art, experts
telling the ripe ones by single tap of the
finger,
Melon patches should contain no weeds,
and it is a strange sight to look over a hun
dred acres without seeing a single weed.
This requires considerable labor and ex-
pense, which adds to the cost of raising
melons.
An acre of ground well pruned and cult
waited will produce from 1000 to 800
melons, and as it takes from 200 to 400
to make carload of 20, 900 pounds, it is safe
to estimate that an acre of ground will proa
duce carload of melons.
When melons were first raised the farmers
obtained from 500 to $500 car, but the
business is now overdone, and the prices
average from S25 to $50. .-.
Last year the Lodi growers formed pool
| and the business was put in the hands of an
| agent, who telegraphed for cars and dis
posed of them at auction on the track. But
the farmers were suspicious of the agent
and of each other, and the pool broke down.
| At times there would be twenty cars of
melons on the track and the agent unable to
dispose of them. Many cars were sold for
the freight alone, This year there is no
pool, and the market is liable to be over
stocked as it was last year, although the
| crop will be much lighter.
The muskmelon, or, as it is appropriately
| called mushmelon, is restricted to two dis
| tricts, the Sacramento river district and the
| Vacaville district. They come in in June
and go out in September, being longer in
the market than the watermelon. They are
always Grated, never being sent in bulk.
| They usually command a fair price, and
there is less cornering on them than on the
watermelon. The cantaloupe is not dis
tinct species, but is another name for the
muskmelon. being derived fSom Canteluppi,
a villa in Rome. 1t is expected that the
crop win be fairly good this year.